Port Denarau and Suva - crappy ship excursions!

Hi guys... I'm after some advice on what to do in Suva and Port Denarau? We will be there at the beginning of March and really want to see the Fiji Islands. Unfortunately, Carnival don't offer any good excursions. Has anyone done a half day cruise to one of the small islands from Port Denarau? I'm hesitant to book anything other than what the boat offers but don't want to waste my time in port. We really wanted to swim, lay on the beach and snorkel with tropical fish. Thanks for your help!

I so agree with you about the poor selection of cruise line port shore excursions. I'll be on the Dawn Princess in February and our choices are not that great either.

Check out trip advisor. They have some good snorkeling Tours in Denarau with good reviews. Not sure if there's a good beach in Suva, but I did see they have some pretty good hikes to some amazing waterfalls.

I'm researching whether to take a cruise or fly there directly, but I can't seem to decide which island I want to visit the most in Fiji. They all sound amazing.

This shows the drawback of sailing on a big ship which can only access large ports. You need to be on an expedition ship with about 100 passengers and zodiac landing craft to see the absolutely stunning small islands, beaches and coral gardens that Fiji is famous for. On a big ship you see nothing.

We did a great trip with Oolala out of Denarau a few years ago - but it's an all day trip, so would depend on how long you are in port for. We were staying at Denarau & not a visiting cruise ship. There are regular 'ferry transfers' to/from some of the islands off Denarau that you might be able to do in half day, but I'd suggest you research before you arrive to avoid 'island time'.

P&O (booked 4 months prior) & Princess (booked 4 weeks) have both added ship tours to the original list available online, so you might get lucky. Perhaps check back occasionally. RCI didn't add any that I noticed (b4w).

We chose the ship excursion to the Pacific Harbour Arts Village to see the fire dancing. At least it gets you out of Suva.